Blades come in everything from mirror-finished stainless steel to swirl-patterned Damascus steel – the latter folded hundreds of times (literally) when forged.

Cox traces a knife pattern onto the metal before cutting it out with a massive bandsaw, then grinds the knife’s edge down to one-20,000th of an inch.

After heat and oil baths to temper the steel, Cox uses a 20-ton press to affix the blades to guards of polished brass, nickel or silver.

As for the handle, Cox sources exotic woods from as far afield as Africa and Australia. That is, if he hasn't already cast one from mother of pearl, abalone shell or a 10,000 year-old fossilized wooly mammoth tusk dug up in Siberia (true story).